Entertainment

Long-Form Journalism on Post-Disaster Japan Published by Startup

In the space between long-form, nonfiction books and short-form magazine articles, a multitude of stories exist. All in the 10,000- to 35,000-word range, these stories are waiting to be told and published in a timely fashion.

These stories were the inspiration for Byliner, a modern-day publishing house and discovery aide concentrating in narrative journalism.

Tuesday, Byliner is releasing its second compelling and original work of non-fiction: Into the Forbidden Zone: A Trip Through Hell and High Water in Post-Earthquake Japan by National Book Award winner William T. Vollmann.

Byliner: Behind the Scenes

Byliner's mission is to produce great stories by great writers, stories that can be read in a single sitting. Byliner Originals, the startup's digitally published works of nonfiction, are available for $2.99 each as Amazon Singles and are readable on most tablets, ereaders and mobile devices.

Three Cups of Deceit, by esteemed author Jon Krakauer was Byliner's inaugural story. It proved this unconventional publishing paradigm works. The story, a bonafide instant hit, exposes Three Cups of Tea author and self-professed humanitarian Greg Mortenson as a fraud who lied to his readers and misappropriated millions of dollars in donations for his own personal gain.

Krakauer's research and article served as the basis for a recent 60 Minutesstory on Mortenson. The subject matter of the work and the broadcast story resulted in more than 70,000 downloads of Krakauer's narrative in the first 72 hours after its release. The title has since continued to become Amazon's number one best-selling non-fiction title eleven days running.

Into the Forbidden Zone's subject matter is equally relevant. In fact, timeliness is Byliner's essential value. CEO John Tayman, a magazine editor, journalist and author by trade, describes Byliner Originals as purposefully not being weighed down by the cumbersome infrastructure of conventional publishing companies.

An editorial team develops ideas for narratives they believe should be told. They then work to secure the authors most appropriate for each story, provide them with competitive assignment fees, and (as was the case with Vollmann) send them on-location to draft a narrative. Upon publication, authors receive a 50-50 split of the proceeds.

Into the Forbidden Zone

Now, Byliner is ready to repeat history with the release its second Byliner Original. Into the Forbidden Zone, for sale Tuesday, is a 20,000 word narrative that chronicles life, survivor stories and radiation levels in a post-disaster Japan.

"It was obvious that what was occurring in Japan was going to be an important story for the year," Tayman says of Byliner's interest in the Japan narrative. "We wanted to get a writer on that story while it was still current."

Vollmann was sent to Japan for a two-week period following the devastating earthquake and tsunami. The fruits of his first-hand experience were weaved into "an unbelievably powerful and crafted piece of reportage," as Tayman describes it.

Non-Fiction & Narrative Discovery

Though quick to publish long-form journalism, Tayman insists that Byliner Originals are far from rushed. "The story goes through intensive and important editorial work," he says. "We craft the story."

The format even allows for up-to-the-last-minute reporting. Krakauer, for instance, was adding new material and fresh reporting just hours before Three Cups of Deceit was published, Tayman says.

Byliner's nouveau publishing house, a remarkable undertaking of its own, is only half of this startup's story. Byliner promises to find readers something good to read and it will do so with the pending release of Byliner.com.

Byliner.com will be dedicated to voracious and curious readers that hang on the words of their favorite authors or are in search of undiscovered gems from the past. On Byliner.com, readers will have access to the best 25,000 feature articles ever written, as curated by site editors, says Tayman.

"That might be a new article, a classic article or an article by a writer that a reader has not discovered," he says.

The nonfiction discovery tool, launching in a few weeks' time, will enable communities of readers to form around narratives and authors.

Altogether, Tayman sees Byliner Originals and Byliner.com as helping readers experience the sensation of reading a story in all its parts — beginning, middle and end. He likens the experience to the elation of leaving a movie theater after consuming an engaging film.

"There's nothing like the spell that a good writer can cast," he says.

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